News Broadcasting
News Broadcasters Association roots for freedom to proceed against TV channels
NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has expressed deep concern over the show cause notice sent to three Indian news broadcasters by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry pertaining to their coverage of stories linked to Yakub Memon’s hanging.
This comes close on the heels of the statement put out by the Broadcasters Editors Association, wherein it expressed concern over the “apparent tendency among governments, both at the centre and in some states, to serve notices on media organisations in a selective manner.”
As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the I&B Ministry had sent notices to three channels namely NDTV 24×7/NDTV India, Aaj Tak and ABP News relating to Memon’s execution coverage.
The NBA notes that the notice was for reportedly having aired phone-in interviews of underworld gangster Chhota Shakeel on two channels, which according to the I&B Ministry casts aspersions against the integrity of the President and the Judiciary; and can incite violence and lead to law and order problems. In light of this, NBA has urged the Ministry to withdraw the show cause notices issued and refer them to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) instead, which would consider it under its regulations.
In a statement, the NBA said, “The present Government has gone on record to state that it believes the media should be independent without any government interference and it should self regulate itself.”
Now it remains to be seen whether the Ministry hands the matter over to the NBSA to look into.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
